Chapter 108

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 108

Chapter Title: Deal (3)

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After that, Cheon Seo-yun started living in the house I had built.

During the day, she roamed every corner of the uninhabited island, hunting summons. In the evening, she returned home to eat the meals I prepared and rest.

'Somehow, it feels like I've become her maid.'

Of course, Cheon Seo-yun's score from her nonstop hunting remained overwhelmingly dominant.

I had a feeling that once students started stealing points from each other, she'd be the first one targeted.

In contrast to Cheon Seo-yun, who kept holding first place, my score—gained only from survival points—had my ranking fluctuating wildly.

'I've dropped even further than yesterday.'

I'd been 75th yesterday, but now I was down to 91st. It seemed everyone had figured out how points were deducted and started hunting summons more carefully to avoid that.

"Hey! Catch it!"

"Don't let it get away!"

"...?"

That's when shouts from unfamiliar voices rang out from one side.

I turned my head and spotted a wild boar charging straight toward me, with four students chasing after it.

'Did they plant wild boars here too?'

The boar was in such a frenzy that it didn't even think to dodge ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me—it barreled ahead blindly.

'Well, boar meat doesn't sound bad.'

With that thought, I used Warlord's Weapon on a nearby rock and hurled it straight at the boar's head.

Thwack!—

The rock embedded perfectly into the boar's forehead.

It died instantly, legs giving out as it staggered and collapsed sideways.

'Guess I'll butcher it, smoke it, and eat it.'

But to do that, I'd have to deal with those four students first.

"Hey! Hand over that boar!"

"Wait, isn't that guy Lee Seongmin?"

"And what's that house behind him?"

The four of them stared in confusion at me, who'd claimed the boar, and the house I'd built behind me.

They couldn't accept it at face value—building a house on this deserted island seemed impossible to them.

"Anyway, Lee Seongmin. That prey is ours."

"Oh. Right. We can't just take someone else's prey."

I nodded along with his words.

"It's your prey, sure. But in the end, I caught it."

"So you're not giving it up?"

"I'll give you two or three legs."

It was a pretty generous offer on my part, but the four of them reacted like it was outrageous.

"What? Two or three?!"

"You stole our chased prey and now you want to hog it all?"

"Grab him and disqualify him!"

They knew they could disqualify someone by tampering with their watch.

To be fair, it was something anyone could check with a quick watch adjustment, so nothing special.

"So? You wanna fight me?"

I levitated six rocks around me.

Having just seen me instant-kill the boar with one, they hesitated to rush in recklessly.

"Hey, relax. No way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lee Seongmin's gonna kill us with rocks, right?"

"We can tank a few hits. In the meantime, we take him down and pin him."

They started devising a plan and moved to attack me.

Just as I resigned myself to forcibly disqualifying all four, a familiar voice cut in.

"What're you doing?"

It was Cheon Seo-yun, back from her hunt on the island today.

She took one look at me facing off against the four and asked what was going on.

"Ch-Cheon Seo-yun?"

"What? Why's Cheon Seo-yun here?"

For some reason, they seemed more afraid of her than me.

I was inwardly curious about that, but answered her question first.

"They're trying to steal the boar I caught."

"..."

Cheon Seo-yun's eyes turned icy as she glared at the four, gripping her wooden club tightly.

That alone made them flinch, exchanging panicked looks as they huddled to discuss.

"T-Two of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us take Cheon Seo-yun, and the other two handle Lee Seongmin?"

"Are you nuts? She's sent a truckload of guys to the infirmary just in swordsmanship class."

"Instructor Choi Ji-an even banned sparring with her."

So that's why they feared her—she'd gone wild in swordsmanship class.

Considering her current skill level, no student stood a chance, so it made sense.

"So what do we do?"

"That boar's enough to feed us for three or four days."

I made one final offer as I watched the four dither indecisively.

"I'll butcher it and give you three legs. Take it or leave it. Or we fight right now."

"..."

"..."

Of course, they had no real choice.

Fighting us offered slim odds of victory, so they nodded reluctantly, faces twisted in humiliation.

"F-Fine. Three legs it is."

He said it like he was the one compromising.

Cheon Seo-yun clearly didn't like that. She started walking over, club in hand.

"Wh-Why? We said three legs is fine!"

"Cheon Seo-yun, that's enough."

I told her to stop, and she halted mid-stride.

Ignoring their stunned stares, I used telekinesis to lift the boar carcass and began butchering it.

'Butchering's a breeze too.'

I controlled a stone knife with Warlord's Weapon and finished the job in one go.

They gawked, dumbfounded, at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the superhuman butchering as the boar disassembled in seconds.

"Here. Three legs."

Anyway, I handed over three boar legs to the guys.

They caught the telekinetically floating legs and nodded blankly.

"F-Fine... Next time, we won't let it slide. Get ready."

"..."

I considered snatching the legs back from the stubborn fool, but they were already fleeing.

Nothing for it. Hoping to run into them later when I could steal their points, I turned to Cheon Seo-yun, who looked sullen.

"What?"

"You didn't need to give them legs."

It seemed she was asking why I'd given them any at all.

"They were the ones chasing the boar. It just happened to charge my way, and I caught it."

In short, it was prey that coincidentally came to me.

Hearing it wasn't really my hunted prey eased her dissatisfaction, and she nodded.

'This isn't like reporting to a wife.'

I thought that but kept it to myself, pointing at the butchered boar meat instead.

"Wanna eat some?"

"Yeah."

As expected, Cheon Seo-yun—who never refused food—nodded. I started a fire.

I sliced off enough meat to eat, grilled it over the flames, and sprinkled on salt I'd made by boiling seawater.

'Only salt for seasoning, but it should be enough.'

I figured it would be because of my card ability.

I'd once mentioned that out of exactly 100 card abilities, only two had surpassed +10 to reach +11.

'One was Copulation, which I used on Cheon Seo-yun.'

The other was the ability related to what I was doing right now—grilling boar meat.

Even setting aside those two special abilities, it was a whopping +11 skill.

Grilling boar meat with that skill guaranteed top-notch flavor.

'With proper ingredients, it'd be even better.'

But no matter how powerful +11 was, salt alone couldn't elevate it to perfection.

More precisely, it could draw out the meat's inherent taste, but not transcend it.

'Still, salt should be plenty.'

If I had the ingredients I envisioned, this boar meat would etch itself into Cheon Seo-yun's memory forever.

Of course, I had those ingredients in my subspace, but I couldn't risk pulling them out with U Yun-hak's innate ability possibly watching.

'If she really wants more, I can make it again later.'

With that in mind, I finished grilling and handed a piece to Cheon Seo-yun, who'd been watching quietly.

"All done. Try it."

True to form, Cheon Seo-yun snatched the boar meat and took a big bite right away.

"...!?"

After one bite of my grilled boar, her eyes went wide as she stared at me.

I was used to such reactions by now. Munching on boar meat alongside her, I said,

"Next time, I'll make something even tastier."

"..."

She stared at me for a moment after that, then nodded and polished off the rest.

"By the way, Lee Seongmin. Aren't you collecting points?"

Having devoured a whole piece in seconds, her belly slightly full, Cheon Seo-yun asked why I wasn't gathering points.

I knew disqualifying students would net me half their points, but I had no intention of telling her that.

'How should I put this?'

After a moment's thought, I played it off like points didn't matter to me.

"I'm fine. Focus on boosting yours first. You need to crack the top 20 this time."

"Top 20?"

She tilted her head, not understanding why I mentioned top 20.

"Top 20 gets you a private room."

"..."

Cheon Seo-yun, who'd already shared her body with me, instantly grasped my meaning.

She gazed at me steadily for a second, then nodded firmly, vowing to make top 20.

"Yeah. I'll get into the top 20, like you said."

Her eyes burned with such fierce determination that I wondered if I'd said something unnecessary.